laser beams & air planes

[sonoma1993]

those people who are shineing laser beams into the air plane cockpit. how are they doing that? i would think it would be kinda impossible. I know laser beams can travel far, but how r they getting it to go into a airplae cockpit when they are 2000+ feet in the air getting ready to come into land. you would think if the people shinning the beam into the cockpit are a couples miles away, they would miss the airplane.

 

[jjzelinski]

Two things; it's believed realtively high powered lasers are being used and the incidents occur while the aircraft is on approach. The beam wouldn't constantly stay pinpointed on the cockpit but may pass over it a couple times while the person is aiming. Also, the beam would be difused and difreacted somewhat so it wouldn't be necessary to hit the pilot right in the eye with the beam for the light to still shine in the pilots eyes.

 

[Colt45]

I showed your mom my laser last night

 

[Mayfriday0529]

The stories have stopped it was a big thing for a while and then no more news stories

 

[paulney]

Media always blows it out of proportion

 

[glen]

The last story I heard seemed a bit strange. They caught the guy, but it was just some average Joe with a key chain lasar. Somethign doesn't add up. Did anyone hear more about this?

 

[etalns]

Originally posted by: glen
The last story I heard seemed a bit strange. They caught the guy, but it was just some average Joe with a key chain lasar. Somethign doesn't add up. Did anyone hear more about this?

That's impossible. It has to be a high powered industrial laser to reach those sorts of distances.

 

[jjzelinski]

Tha'ts a croc of sh1t. I've spoken to pilots about this and the only way a laser would do anything is if it were high powered enouigh that upon diffusion it would still produce an incredibly bright light over larger area. By diffusion I mean when it hits the cockpit glass that abotu an inch thick. From what I've been told it is possible a grade of laser powerful enough to accomplish this but it would MUCH bulkier than a keychain laser, try about the length of a road flair at about 2 to 3 times the diameter.

By the way ome of the pilotes have suffered permanent vision loss (damage) from this "keychain laser"

 

[StageLeft]

Yeah it's not a keychain, because I shot my brother in the eye several times this christmas with a laser sight on a BB gun, and no ill effect noticed from 10 feet.

 

[Eli]

You guys are right that they are using high-powered lasers.

Just look around on eBay. For about 200 bucks, you can buy some already very powerful lasers and "overclock" them to be even more powerful.

200mW is a number that comes to mind. :Q

 

[sharkeeper]

So much (mis) information....so little time.

It's laser pointers folks, 532nM class 3A (<4.9 mW) devices.

These will reach out well over 15,000 feet. They cannot cause eye damage more than about 50 feet away, but the "flash" from them can startle at much greater distances.

No one to this date has been caught or even suspected of using a higher power device.

$200 will buy a low power laser that may do 200mW when modified but it won't last very long.

Illegal laser pointers may be found doing well over 5 mW, again these don't last long nor are they stable.

At the typical 1.2 mR divergence, a laser beam from a pointer is more than 60 feet wide on a target over 10,000 feet away. It is possible to "paint" a plane with one. It is also quite foolish.

Research continues on the real hazards of said devices.